Lok Satta party demands hike in MSP for rice
Increase in the MSP for rice, from the current Rs 725 per quintal, has become a ticklish political issue in the state with political parties demanding parity in the MSP given for rice and wheat.
By PTI |
HYDERABAD: The Lok Satta Party, headed by bureaucrat-turned-politician N Jayaprakash Narayan, on Friday joined the growing chorus of demand in Andhra Pradesh for hike in minimum support price (MSP) for rice.
"The paddy farmers in the country and our state are in tremendous distress. Therefore, on an immediate term, the paddy procurement price must be brought on par with wheat, up to at least Rs 1,000 per quintal," Narayan said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Increase in the MSP for rice, from the current Rs 725 per quintal, has become a ticklish political issue in the state with political parties demanding parity in the MSP given for rice and wheat.
The MSP for wheat is about Rs 1,000 per quintal. Andhra Pradesh is one of the major paddy producing states.
While Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu has hit the street on the issue, Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy said the government would mount pressure on the Centre to increase the MSP for paddy. Other parties like the CPI(M), CPI and BJP, too, have demanded enhancing the MSP for rice.
Narayan, who was a member of the Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council, and the Administrative Reforms Commission, also suggested creation of locally-managed Grain Banks as an alternative to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) storing the rice.
FCI spends Rs 760 simply to store one quintal of rice.
Instead, by creating locally-managed Grain Banks, we can significantly reduce transaction, transport handling and storage costs while enhancing the rural employment opportunities, he observed.
"The paddy farmers in the country and our state are in tremendous distress. Therefore, on an immediate term, the paddy procurement price must be brought on par with wheat, up to at least Rs 1,000 per quintal," Narayan said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Increase in the MSP for rice, from the current Rs 725 per quintal, has become a ticklish political issue in the state with political parties demanding parity in the MSP given for rice and wheat.
The MSP for wheat is about Rs 1,000 per quintal. Andhra Pradesh is one of the major paddy producing states.
While Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu has hit the street on the issue, Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy said the government would mount pressure on the Centre to increase the MSP for paddy. Other parties like the CPI(M), CPI and BJP, too, have demanded enhancing the MSP for rice.
Narayan, who was a member of the Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council, and the Administrative Reforms Commission, also suggested creation of locally-managed Grain Banks as an alternative to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) storing the rice.
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FCI spends Rs 760 simply to store one quintal of rice.
Instead, by creating locally-managed Grain Banks, we can significantly reduce transaction, transport handling and storage costs while enhancing the rural employment opportunities, he observed.
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